1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the registration of a display part of an interactive display system with a control part of such system. The invention is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with the registration of a wireless interactive whiteboard.
2. Background to the Invention
A typical example of an interactive display system is an electronic whiteboard system. An electronic whiteboard system typically is adapted to sense the position of a pointing device or pointer relative to a working surface of the whiteboard, the working surface being an interactive surface. When an image is displayed on the work surface of the whiteboard, and its position calibrated, the pointer can be used in the same way as a computer mouse to manipulate objects on the display by moving a pointer over the surface of the whiteboard.
A typical application of an interactive whiteboard system is in a teaching environment. The use of interactive whiteboard improves teaching productivity and also improves student comprehension. Such whiteboards also allow use to be made of good quality digital teaching materials, and allow data to be manipulated and presented using audio visual technologies.
A typical construction of an electronic whiteboard system comprises an interactive display forming the electronic whiteboard, a projector for projecting images onto the display, and a computer system in communication with the electronic whiteboard for generating the images for projection, running software applications associated with such images, and for processing data received from the display associated with pointer activity. In this way the computer system can control the generation of images to take into account the detected movement of the pointer on the interactive surface.
In prior art electronic whiteboard systems, the connection between the whiteboard and the computer system is typically provided by a wired connection. In order to simplify the installation of electronic whiteboard systems, and to make such systems more versatile, it is proposed to provide the connection between the electronic whiteboard and an associated computer system wirelessly.
In a wireless arrangement, a problem arises in establishing registration between the electronic whiteboard and the computer system. Whereas in a wired arrangement on power-up the whiteboard and the computer system are directly connected, and therefore the relationship between the two is effectively predefined, in a wireless system there is no dedicated connection between the computer and the whiteboard on power-up.
A further problem arises due to a typical environment in which an electronic whiteboard is used. As mentioned above, a typical application is in a teaching environment. In a teaching environment, a plurality of electronic whiteboards may be provided in a relatively small area, such as a plurality of whiteboards dispersed among a number of closely located classrooms. When a number of such whiteboards are positioned within the same locality, and such whiteboards are adapted to wirelessly communicate with computer systems, an additional complexity arises in establishing registration between computers located in the individual classrooms and the whiteboards in those classrooms. A computer can wirelessly communicate as easily with a whiteboard in any other classroom as that in the particular classroom in which it is located. An additional problem therefore arises in ensuring correct registration between a plurality of whiteboards and a plurality of computer systems in such a wireless environment.
It is an aim of the invention to provide an improved registration system for interactive systems, which is particularly advantageous in the registration of wireless interactive systems, and which preferably addresses one or more of the above-stated problems.